Notre Dame alumnus Archbishop Felix named cardinal by Pope Francis

Published: January 22, 2014

Author: Michael O. Garvey

Archbishop Kelvin Edward Felix, emeritus archbishop of Castries, Saint Lucia, who will be made a cardinal by Pope Francis next month, is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame.

Archbishop Felix, who enrolled at Notre Dame in 1965, studied sociology and earned a master’s degree from the University in 1969.

A native of Roseau, Dominica, Archbishop Felix oversaw the West Indian dioceses of Castries in Saint Lucia, Saint George in Grenada, Roseau in Dominica, and Saint John Basseterre in Antigua and St. Kitts from 1981 until his retirement in 2008. He now lives in Dominica where he assists as a priest in several Catholic parishes.

At 81, Archbishop Felix is one of three new cardinals older than the age of 80 and, therefore, ineligible to vote in a papal conclave. The other two “honorary” cardinals are 84-year-old Archbishop Fernando Sebastian Aguilar, of Pamplona, Spain, and 98-year-old Archbishop Loris Capovilla, who served as personal secretary to Blessed John XXIII.

All 19 of those whose names Pope Francis announced Sunday (Jan. 12) will be made cardinals during a ceremony on Feb. 22 (Sunday) at the Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome.

Originally published by Michael O. Garvey at news.nd.edu on January 17, 2014.